VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has a strategic role given its location in one of the most important international shipping lanes connecting Asian countries with major regions of the world, an official from the Transportation Ministry has said.

"Indonesia, along with the littoral states (Malaysia and Singapore), maintains the safety, security, and maritime environment along the Malacca Straits and Singapore Straits," head of the Transportation Human Resources Development Agency of the ministry, Djoko Sasono, said, according to a press release issued here on Thursday.

He made the statement during a lecture at the ministry’s Jakarta School of Maritime Transportation (STIP) on “Challenge and Opportunity in Sea Transportation Industry,” which also featured Danish Ambassador to Indonesia, Lars Bo Larsen, and director of Maersk Indonesia, Ery Hardianto, as speakers.

The ministry’s official emphasized that preparing competent and quality human resources is very important to realize the government’s vision of making Indonesia the world's maritime axis.

It is a strategic policy, considering that Indonesia is one of the largest maritime countries in the world comprising more than 17 thousand islands and a maritime area that is equal to two-thirds of the country's total territory.

"Competitive and quality human resources cannot be produced without superior education and training institutions," Sasono remarked.

Head of STIP, Captain Sudiono, said the lecture was the Transportation Ministry’s attempt to improve the knowledge of the school’s undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as the participants of the ministry’s Double Degree Scholarship Program regarding the maritime and shipping industry in developed countries.

The scholarship program was offered in collaboration with the Indonesian Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) and Dutch Rotterdam University.

During the lecture, the Danish Ambassador to Indonesia highlighted the role of the shipping industry in supporting global trade and driving economic growth.

He said that like Indonesia, Denmark, as a maritime country, has set a green transition target to tackle climate change.

"Indonesia can play a role in the global energy transition through Indonesia’s 2022 G20 Presidency, including encouraging global (green transition) mechanisms, providing decarbonization (mechanism), (establishing) green maritime centers, producing future (eco-friendly) fuels, as well as preserving nature," he added.  (Antaranews)